


Raindrops on Roses

by Conversely



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, House Party, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 02:10:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15184445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Conversely/pseuds/Conversely
Summary: “Insta-drunk?” Roxas asked incredulously, leaning into Axel a little further. For support.“Is that a thing?”“Yes, actually. I had some roommates who liked to take shots that way. Saves time.”“Well, aren’t your friends cool.”





	Raindrops on Roses

**Author's Note:**

> First story in a very long time and first time writing these characters, please be kind  
> <3 :)

Roxas was not particularly good at the going out thing. He’d gotten by just fine with this attitude in high school, and sure he wasn’t wildly popular, but he had a solid group of friends and wanted nothing more. At least, he thought he wanted nothing more. But then Roxas came to college, and if he’d learned anything so far in his month there, it was that the college experience required putting a lot of effort towards getting laid. That, and that getting laid in turn required the going out thing. So here he was, in his cramped dorm room, letting his small but solid group of friends dress him up and drag him out for the night in a valiant attempt at his first college hookup.

“Roxas!”

Kairi’s tone made it clear this was not the first time she’d called his name.

“Stop panicking and put this on!” she instructed, throwing a shirt that landed right on top of Roxas’ head.

“This is it?” 

Roxas pulled the plain black shirt off his head and examined it incredulously.

“What, do I get laid by just not wearing pants?”

Sora and Riku broke out into an irritatingly synchronized laugh, while Kairi simply sighed heavily and leveled Roxas with a sharp look.

“No, I just actually _like_ the pants you’re wearing. So keep them, put on the shirt, and let’s go!”

Kairi wasn’t usually this short-tempered, but Roxas was taking at least twice as long as her to get ready, and Sora had only just finished getting ready himself.

Yet all three boys looked startled at her outburst, causing Kairi to soften slightly and say, “Look, I’ll go do something to my hair. When I’m done, you all had better be ready. ‘Kay?”

Smiling sweetly, Kairi paused at the doorway to blow a kiss to Sora before shutting the door behind her.

Roxas, who was still standing in the middle of the room with shirt in hand, was brought back with a sharp slap to his shoulder.

He turned to see a wide-eyed Sora.

“Dude, put it on! I don’t wanna start tonight with Kairi mad at me!”

“Oh, please. Relax.”

Riku chimed in from the bottom bunk where he was lounging casually, having long since been ready, “You two bicker all the time, you know she loves you.”

“…Yeah,” Sora said slowly, a smile spreading its way across his face, “Yeah.”

“Ewww!” Roxas complained through the t-shirt as he pulled it over his head, moving to the mirror on the back of the door to check his hair, “Don’t get mushy, it’s gross.”

“You’re just jealous, little bro!” Sora grinned, flopping down next to Riku on the bed, “And that’s why we gotta take you out and find you somebody tonight!”

“Okay, first—” Roxas wheeled around from the mirror, looking pouty, “Eight hours isn’t older!”

“It is unusually long between twins, though, so really—”

Roxas ignored Sora completely, interrupting, “Also, I am _not_ trying to find whatever you’ve got with Kairi, I just wanna have fun. College fun. Sexual fun.”

“Talk about ew!” was Sora’s quick response, but Riku easily talked over him.

“ _Anyway_ , where are we going? You know, more specifically than ‘out’?”

“I don’t actually—”

Sora’s sentence was cut off yet again, this time by a loud, solid thunk and an even louder, “Owww!”

Kairi had opened the door to reenter the room. Or at least, she had tried to. Instead, she’d swung it straight into Roxas, who had turned back to the mirror to keep preening.

“Ooh, sorry!”

Kairi slipped through the doorway and grabbed Roxas’ head, examining him sternly, “You’re fine. And we’re going to a house party, it’s my cousin’s.”

“A house party?” Riku perked up at her words.

“So you _are_ looking for someone tonight too?” Sora wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“No, I’m actually enjoying the solo life right now, thank you. We aren’t all desperate for a hookup.”

“Hey!” Roxas complained, “I am not desperate!”

“Mmmmhm.” Riku drew it out to emphasize his disbelief. 

“I care because house parties mean alcohol. We’ve been in college a fucking _month_ without drinking. I thought this was supposed to be easier than high school, not harder!”

“Well, we knew people in high school,” Kairi interjected briskly, putting her phone into the back pocket of her shorts and grabbing her keys, “and now we know Axel, so we’re going to his house. And yes, Riku—” she cut him off before he could even speak, seeing he’d opened his mouth to interrupt, “there will in fact be alcohol. So come on!”

With that she breezed out the room door, the three boys following close behind.

“So how’re we getting there?” Roxas asked, eyeing Kairi’s keys as she locked the door, “Are you driving?”

“Of course not!” she replied, slipping the keys into her pocket with her phone, “We’re walking, so we can just walk back home once we’ve been drinking.”

“Aw, so responsible!” Sora cooed, eyes wide at his girlfriend.

“Or just not stupid,” Kairi said with a shrug. Pushing open the dorm door to reveal a hot summer night, she added, “It’s only a ten minute walk down Independence, all the good parties are down that street. You ready?”

“Yes!” was the unanimous response, although one could say that Roxas’ was rather less enthusiastic than the others’.  
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯  
Roxas felt like they’d hardly gotten off campus when he spotted the house party. Or rather, heard it. Down the long, straight road he could hear the thump of a steady bass beat, and drunken laughter mixed in with the general sound of mayhem. Shortly after hearing it, he saw it. The house was a two-story, classic, single-family home, lit up like the July sky and filled to the brim (well, overflowing onto the lawn) with college kids.

“Wow,” Sora intoned, eyes wide and lit up with the reflection of the blazing house, “So, if Axel’s been your cousin, like, your whole life—”

Now it was Roxas and Riku’s turn to act unanimously, both snorting loudly in incredulity at Sora’s statement. Kairi stuck to a highly exaggerated eye roll.

“Okay, I heard it, shut up!” Sora grumbled, but carried on, “But like, why have we not been invited to one of these before? Were you holding out on us?”

“Yes, I put all my boyfriends on a year-long probation before they’re allowed to meet any of my family,” Kairi deadpanned.

“ _What?_ ”

“Oh my god, I’m kidding, Sora! He just refused to let me come till I was eighteen, said it was in ‘poor taste’ to have minors there. Whatever. We’re here now!”

And with that, she was the first of the four to step onto the lawn and head up to enter the house.

If possible, it was even louder inside. There was a packed dancing area to the right, and Roxas assumed that going left would lead to the kitchen, although he couldn’t be sure through the crowd of people.

“We’re gonna go dance!” Sora shouted at Roxas and Riku, already being dragged off to the right by Kairi, “Got your phones? We’ll catch up with you!”

“Okay!” Roxas shouted back, but his twin had already disappeared in the mass of moving bodies.

“Wanna get a drink?” Riku offered, thumb pointing over his shoulder to the left.

“Very much, yes.”

Roxas followed Riku down the hall and into the kitchen, which felt surprisingly empty compared to the rest of the house. There was a small group taking shots in the corner, and a slim backside sticking out of the open fridge.

“Um, hello?” Roxas tried, not wanting to startle the fridge guy. However, he must not have heard the greeting, because when the stranger turned around to see Roxas directly behind him, with Riku directly behind _him_ , he jumped about a foot in the air and promptly dropped the beer he was holding.

Without even thinking, Roxas’ hand shot out to grab the glass bottle before it could hit the floor and disturb the relative calm of the kitchen.

“Whoa, nice catch!” Riku exclaimed, as the stranger let out a low, impressed whistle.

When Roxas stood up to hand the beer back to fridge guy, he froze completely, almost dropping the bottle himself. Fridge guy was hot. Super hot. Tall, lanky frame wearing all black, with violently red hair, piercing green eyes, and strange little purple triangles an inch under each iris.

“Are those…?” was all Roxas managed to stammer out as hot fridge guy took his drink back.

“Tattoos? Yes, yes they are. And, uh, who are you? In my house?”

“Oh, hey man!” Riku jumped in, stepping up beside Roxas and extending his hand, “You must be Axel, we’re here with Kairi! She’s already on the dance floor, you know her.”

“Yes, I do,” Axel laughed, “You must be her friends I’ve heard so much about. But, I thought there were twins?” he asked, looking quizzically at Roxas and Riku, who were very clearly not twins.

“Ah, yeah, me.”

Roxas stuttered to life, trying to look less like a love-struck mannequin.

“Yeah, I’m Roxas, and my brother Sora’s being held hostage in your living room by Kairi.”

“Not a fan of the dancing?” Axel laughed again, smiling brightly, “So you must be Riku, then?” he added, eyes moving slowly off of Roxas.

“Yep! Any chance we could get a drink? I’ve got some cash, if you want, just to cover—”

“Nonsense!” Axel said grandly, swinging the fridge open again and reaching towards the back.

“If you’re with Kairi, it’s cool!” He turned around and pressed a cold can each into Roxas and Riku’s hands, “Welcome to college!”

Looking down, Roxas expected to see a beer, but instead saw a tall can as bright green as Axel’s eyes, with the words Four Loko printed on it.

“Have I heard of this?” he muttered, mostly to himself, so he was surprised when Axel replied, “Probably! Got a ton of alcohol in there, so you only need one for the night, I would assume. Drink much in high school?”

He grinned down wolfishly at Roxas, who took a gulp and looked back at Riku to speak while he processed this stranger. Not stranger, Kairi’s cousin. Her hot cousin, which she definitely did not mention. Although, to be fair, she probably hadn’t expected her cousin to become Roxas’ focus for his ‘getting laid in college’ efforts.

Roxas was brought quickly out of his head when he realized Riku had disappeared completely, as had the group taking shots, so Axel and Roxas were now alone in the kitchen.

“Uhm,” Roxas swallowed again, how much did he drink, right, “A bit, you know…the regular amount?”

Axel seemed almost unable to stop beaming at him.

“The regular amount,” he repeated.

Roxas nodded.

“Then that drink should be great for you.”

As Roxas took his first sip (well, gulp, he was nervous under Axel’s intense gaze), his brain strained for something cool to say, something—“Is that music?”

“The music that’s been playing very loudly all night?” Axel cocked one eyebrow up, clearly amused.

“No, no, the real music!”

Axel snorted at this.

“You know what I mean! I think there’s drums, and a guitar, and—”

“Yes, Roxas.” His name rolled off of Axel’s tongue too smoothly. Roxas liked it too much.

“It’s called a band. They’re some friends of mine, wanna check it out?”

“Yes!” Roxas responded a little too eagerly, following Axel out of the kitchen and continuing down the hall.

“Wait, you have friends in a real band? How old _are_ you?”

Axel turned around, eyeing Roxas up and down, acid eyes scanning above inverted teardrops.

“How old are _you_?”

“Hey, I asked first!”

“Yes, but you’re in my house drinking my alcohol, so…”

“Ugh.” Roxas didn’t want to scare Axel off, but he already knew Roxas was friends with Kairi, so what was the harm?

“Eighteen, I’m eighteen, okay?”

“Okay.” Axel smiled widely, grabbing Roxas’ hand to lead them down a packed staircase and into the basement, where the band was playing on a small, makeshift stage.

Roxas forgot to protest Axel’s not answering the question when he was brought to the front of the crowd, right up to the stage. Axel was already enjoying the show, nodding his head to the beat and mouthing lyrics he clearly knew. Roxas smiled to himself; Axel was in his element and looked better than ever, somehow. He seemed to get hotter by the minute. Pretty, even. Roxas sighed inwardly at the fact that he was a half hour into his first college party, staring at Kairi’s cousin and thinking he was pretty. But he was, and Kairi was dating Roxas’ very own twin, so really what right did she have to be annoyed if he went after her aunt’s son?

None, Roxas decided, and took another swig of his drink before turning from Axel to the stage, also deciding the strange new feeling in his stomach was definitely only from the alcohol.  
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯  
The band had been surprisingly good for a basement show, but by the time their set was over the room was downright sweltering, so Roxas let Axel lead him to the backyard for some air. On the way, they ran into Sora and Kairi, who got very excited when she saw Axel and shared a quick family catch up.

“Ohmygod, it’s been a year since I’ve seen you! How’s your mom?”

“She’s doing great, how’s Aunt Vesta?”

“Still running the salon!”

But then, Kairi noticed Roxas’ hand in her cousin’s, and her eyes narrowed as she focused in on Axel.

“Do you know how old he is?”

“Yeah, legal. Same as you.” Axel shrugged, turning to continue outside. But this move put the four of them under the shine of the porch light, and it was Axel’s turn to stop their progress.

“Whoa,” he said, staring a little too closely at Sora for Roxas’ liking, “very identical.”

“Yep!” Sora said brightly, at the same time Roxas mumbled, “Yes, because we’re twins, that’s pretty much how it works…”

Kairi raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Roxas’ grumbling, but Axel was still too intrigued by the twins to notice. He’d dropped Roxas’ hand in surprise, which Roxas would argue had not at all contributed to his sudden attitude. Nope.

Hoping to end this interaction, Roxas led the others the rest of the way outside and across the yard to a large oak. As he drew near the tree, Roxas noticed that Riku had already climbed halfway up it before the other four had arrived. He’d always had an uncanny way of disappearing completely and turning up at just the right time; Roxas stopped questioning it long ago.

“Hey,” he offered shortly, folding his limbs to lie down beneath the tree, propping his almost-empty can against the trunk.

“You good?” Riku asked, looking down on Roxas as the other three gathered, Kairi and Sora sitting closely together and Axel remaining standing to gaze up at Riku.

“I didn’t think that tree was climbable.”

Axel sounded almost offended, as if anyone should be able to climb the tree, it should be him.

“Aw c’mon, every tree’s climbable!” Riku exclaimed, pausing to add, “Except palms, I mean, you can still climb ‘em if you try hard enough, but…”

His train of thought seemed to trail off as he leaned back into the branches, knocking down an empty beer bottle that narrowly missed Axel yet landed squarely on Roxas’ stomach.

“Oof!” he grunted, rolling to curl up in a rather pathetic ball, “What is with tonight?”

“Sorry, man!” Riku called down absently, as Kairi rose to scold him about bringing glass projectiles up into trees and Axel knelt down to Roxas’ level.

“So I gather this is not the first injury of the night?” he asked, as Roxas huffed moodily before returning to lie on his back.

“ _No_ ,” he emphasized, looking over at Kairi, who was currently being handed down empty beer bottles from the tree, “She opened the door into my face.”

“ _What?_ ” 

Axel was clearly about to get up and say something to Kairi when Roxas quickly added, “Not on purpose, though…” in a low undertone. Axel broke out into that wide smile again, and Roxas decided to contribute the immediately following roll in his stomach to the bottle to the gut.

“You think you’re gonna make it?”

The closeness of Axel’s voice caused Roxas’ head to snap to the left; he’d closed his eyes for a moment to calm his stomach and now found himself less than a foot away from Axel’s face.

“Thought I’d join you down here, for moral support,” he explained, as Roxas calmed his heartbeat and congratulated himself on not shrieking at the sudden proximity. It had been a close call.

Axel’s eyes were somehow brighter than his smile, and that acid green couldn’t possibly be natural. Roxas would think the same of the hair, but he’d known Kairi too long to question whether the red was real.

“Got an opinion?”

Axel spoke softly.

Roxas had definitely been staring straight into Axel’s eyes, and turned the shade of his hair as he murmured, “On?”

“You’ve been staring at my tattoos, haven’t you? Everyone’s got an opinion, so?”

Roxas was caught so off-guard by Axel’s assumption that his response came out lacking an actual answer.

“Why should anyone else get an opinion? It’s your face, isn’t it?”

Axel smiled again, but slowly this time, so the tattoos in question became rising triangles on his cheekbones.

“You know what, you’re right. Never mind.”

His hand moved, as if he was about to reach toward Roxas, when suddenly Kairi appeared above them.

“Want another beer?” she asked, one in each hand and an exasperated look on her face. “The idiot—” here she jerked her head in Riku’s direction— “brought his own bar into the tree.”

Axel sat up to grab one, saying, “Thanks, Kai.”

Sora popped up suddenly as well; head looking like it was floating against the branches of the tree.

“Wait, Kai?” he pouted, “You said I can’t call you that!”

“And you can’t,” she smiled coolly, turning her attention back to the boys below her, “So, Roxas, beer? We gotta head out though, so drink it fast.”

“Wait, head out?” Roxas knew he hadn’t hidden the disappointment in his voice, be he found it hard to care.

“Uh, yeah!” Kairi sounded as if nothing had ever been more obvious, and it was at that moment Riku fell right out of the tree. Onto Sora.

“I’m good!” Riku bounced up, drunkenly unaware of the slight commotion he’d caused.

Sora looked a bit less-than-good, but Kairi checked him as she had Roxas earlier and decided he would make it.

“So with that, we will definitely be off! Roxas?”

As Roxas tried to figure out how to get Kairi to stay without admitting it was to hit on her cousin, the man in question spoke up.

“He can stay, Kai, you know I’ll get him back to you. I mean, if you want to?” he added quickly to Roxas, looking at him quizzically for the second time that night.

Luckily, Roxas finally had the presence of mind to speak up, saying, “Yeah, I’ll be fine! We’re like, ten minutes away from the dorms.”

Kairi still looked slightly worried, knowing Axel all too well. Sora, who had been wrangling Riku while the other’s discussed, cut in.

“In case this decides things for anyone, I was unable to prevent Riku from starting home, and I don’t wanna lose him this early into college, so…”

“Damnit!” Kairi said sharply, though her face lacked real anger, “Alright, Roxas, you’d better be calling us first thing tomorrow morning. And you,” she pointed a well-manicured nail at Axel, “you be good. Don’t let him get too drunk, and just— _behave_.”

With that she was off after Sora and Riku, and Roxas found himself alone with Axel for the second time that night. First in the kitchen, now on the lawn…kitchen…right, drinks!

“Hey, Kairi leave that other beer?”

“Mm, yes.”

There was then a pause in which Axel did not hand Roxas the beer. Rolling back to look at Axel, who was still gazing up at the tree, Roxas tried, “Can I have it?”

“How about we stand up to head in and then decide?”

Roxas couldn’t think of any logical reason to do this, but going with the flow had landed to him here alone with Axel, so he’d play along.

Roxas moved to stand up, aiming to roll onto his side and use his hands to push up off the ground and stand fully. However, at the pushing-off-the-ground stage, he hit a bit of a snag. His legs felt like warm Jell-O, and started to melt beneath him, returning to the earth, when Roxas felt thin but muscled arms grab him around the waist and pull him back up.

“Thought so.”

Axel sounded thoroughly pleased with himself, as Roxas questioned, “Thought what?”

At this Axel simply released his hold on Roxas, who swayed dangerously before Axel slipped an arm back around his waist.

“Here’s some college biology for you. You’re not a regular drinker, and that Four Loko had what amounts to four shots and an energy drink. You drank it all while moving in a hot crowd, burning through the energy drink side, and then you laid down for half an hour. _Then_ , and this is where the science gets a bit fuzzy cause I may or may not actually know the science behind it, you stood up. Bringing all of your blood and the alcohol in it right to your head. So, you now get to be…insta-drunk!”

“Insta-drunk?” Roxas asked incredulously, leaning into Axel a little further. For support. 

“Is that a thing?”

“Yes, actually. I had some roommates who liked to take shots that way. Saves time.”

“Well, aren’t your friends cool.”

“They really are. So I will have these beers, as I have only had two and graciously gave you the very alcoholic beverage, and we can go somewhere you can lay back down.”

“Is that a line?”

It was out of Roxas’ mouth before he’d consciously given it permission. Axel had seemed flirty all night, but Roxas hadn’t planned on openly addressing the sexual tension running rampant between them like this. High school Roxas never would have been so bold, he was sure of it. Maybe college Roxas was already braver, more ready to go after what he wanted. Or maybe he was just drunker than he’d been in a while. Either way, he couldn’t take it back now.

“Do you want it to be?”

“I wanna know what you meant it as.”

Whatever the cause, he was _definitely_ bolder.

“A line. Did it work?”

“Yes.”

Axel’s arm was still wound around Roxas’ waist, Roxas leaning into him and looking up past purple drops into eyes sparkling with want. He couldn’t be sure why Axel wanted him, next to all the much older and cooler people here tonight, but questioning it just seemed ungrateful.

“Lead the way?”   
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯  
Axel’s room was the very last one down the hall at the top of the stairs. Roxas half-expected to see a KEEP OUT sign posted on the door, but then that was probably a lot less necessary when you lived with roommates instead of parents.

Axel pushed the door open, and with a grand wave of his arm, beckoned Roxas into the room.

Posters covered the walls, a mix between bands, tattoo transfers, movie releases, and, curiously, several artistic scenes involving fire. Despite the fact that not a square inch of paint could be seen (or wallpaper, it was impossible to tell), the floor was clear and the room itself quite clean. Desk tucked under the window, books stacked neatly and backpack hung over the chair. The bed was against the opposite wall, in direct line of sight from the doorway.

Roxas stepped in beside Axel’s sweeping arm, and the door was shut behind him.

“This is…clean.”

“Clean? I take you to my room, a direct window into my personality, and all you have to say is _clean_?”

“I mean, I think being clean is a good indicator of personality. I like clean. Did you want a more in-depth assessment? Cause you might have to wait till I’m a little more sober for that.”

“Oh, so you’ll be coming back sober?”

The smile was evident in Axel’s voice before Roxas turned to see it.

“Won’t I?”

Axel kissed him.

It happened before Roxas could even see it coming, and prepare, which was probably for the best. He tended to over-think things like this; which way should his head go, breathe out of nose or mouth, where should his hands be?

This time, none of these thoughts crossed Roxas’ mind, and indeed it seemed all thoughts had been erased entirely. Axel’s left arm was firm around his waist yet again, the right coming up to hold his neck with those long, warm fingers, fiery points of contact eliciting a soft gasp.

Axel responded to the sound, head tilting to deepen the kiss as Roxas’ hands wound their way into deep red locks. When had his hands gotten there?

Axel’s tongue moved against Roxas’ now, slowly, tantalizingly, as he stepped backwards until—

Roxas’ world tilted sharply forward, jarring him out of his blissful focus as his knees hit the mattress on either side of Axel’s hips, plenty of room remaining on both sides of the bed. In fact, it was a huge upgrade from Roxas’ dorm-issued, extra-long twin.

“What size bed is this?”

“ _What?_ ”

Axel, who’d been occupied leaving small kisses and bites along Roxas’ neck, sounded incredulous, voice rasping, “What’s it matter how big my bed is, Roxas?”

Axel purring his name just jammed Roxas’ brain further; how was he supposed to focus when Axel said his name like that?

“How old are you?”

“How _drunk_ are you?”

Axel looked genuinely concerned now, propped up on one elbow, other hand resting steadily on Roxas’ hip with fingers splayed.

“I’m fine, I just…” Roxas paused to collect his thoughts into as coherent a form as possible. Half drunk, half very turned on, he was having a hard time with complete sentences.

“Your bed is big, and soft, and probably expensive, and how old are you?”

“ _Ohh_.” 

Axel drew the sound out as a look of dawning crossed over his face, “Oh my god, you’re cute. Sorry!”

Roxas had crossed his arms at this, pouting in an effort to look tough, but only succeeding in looking smaller and more disheveled. So, cuter.

“I’m twenty-two. Still in college, I live here with roommates, my mom paid for the bed when I made dean’s list.”

“Twenty-two?” Roxas repeated, making sure he’d heard right, “Oh. Okay. Cool, but then, why me?”

“Why you, what?”

It seemed Roxas had genuinely lost Axel again.

“Why me, tonight? This is your house party, I’m just your little cousin’s friend.”

Roxas’ heart was plummeting. Here he was, over-thinking just like he’d decided not to do, and probably wrecking things with Axel in the process. Why now, why couldn’t he seem to help himself?

“I’m assuming you want the truth?”

Axels’ voice was even and careful, hand still warm on Roxas’ hip, soft thumb circling slowly. Roxas realized belatedly what a stupid conversation this was to be having while straddling a hot guy during a house party in full swing. He nodded.

“I do like what I know about you so far, but in all honesty, we’ve only known each other a couple of hours, and you are the hottest person here tonight. I can’t tell you exactly what it is, but I’m attracted to you, plain and simple.”

Roxas dimly took note of the fact that Axel really was alarmingly honest, but grew aware he must not be looking very reassured. And he wasn’t, because, “What about Sora?”

“My cousin’s boyfriend? What about him?”

Roxas didn’t answer, choosing instead to look intently at a spot somewhere above Axel’s right shoulder as he pulled at a loose thread on his jeans.

“Oh, so it’s a twin thing? You really think I just picked the gay twin of convenience?”

Roxas didn’t respond verbally, but his eyes came back to meet Axel’s, icy blue narrow with hesitant anticipation.

“So I don’t have any hard evidence, but I can promise you I do not have a twin thing. It’s not cause you’re the gay one, or cause I saw you first. It’s not even because I prefer blondes.”

Roxas finally cracked a weak smile at this, encouraging Axel to go on.

“I don’t wanna assume I have the right to tell you when you’re over-thinking things, but you’re over-thinking things. I like what I’ve learned about you tonight, and what I’ve heard from Kairi before that. I’d like to keep getting to know you, if you’d want that too. I just like _you_. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Roxas’ brain felt like it had more questions, wanted a clearer list of the things Axel saw in him, perhaps in a PowerPoint format. But Axel’s words had reached Roxas just enough that his mind took these nagging worries and shoved them behind the list of things he and Axel could be actually doing right now, instead of discussing why they were doing them. Roxas could deal with those uncertainties later. For now, he was going to act on the far more enjoyable to-do list.

Without warning, he leaned down over Axel and reattached their lips. It was different this way, the kiss had been good before, but lying flat found Roxas flush against Axel, chest to chest and groin to groin and there was a new sense of urgency building that hadn’t been there the first time.

Axel pulled back slightly, reluctantly, and said, “Last chance to back out, are you sure you wanna do this?”

There was no turning back now, and he didn’t much want there to be. Axel was sprawled beneath him, rumpled and flushed and bright with lust. Roxas felt he’d never been quite as sure of anything else.

“ _Yes_.”

As soon as the words had left Roxas’ lips, he found himself flat on his back and gazing up at Axel. Soft red hair fell around him in curtains, enveloping the two in their own small world as they kissed, first slowly, languid tongues building to fierce.

The room was becoming unbearably hot, and as Roxas wriggled to sit up and take off the shirt carefully picked for him just hours earlier, he was met by Axel’s hands swiftly removing it for him. Axel removed his own shirt as well, pulling it over his head with one long arm before returning to lean over Roxas, hands planted either side of his chest and teeth worrying his left earlobe into a dark hickey.

Roxas let out a sharp huff of air as their chests met without cotton between, skin sliding as bodies pressed together, starting to rock ever so slightly. Axel had begun the movement with a slow roll of his hips, down onto Roxas’ until he actually moaned aloud, blushing furious crimson but noting Axel’s eyes go wide and hips pick up pace in response.

Axel moved his mouth from Roxas’ earlobe to his neck, teeth sinking slowly in right where neck and shoulder joined, hips rolling down into Roxas all the while. When Axel’s teeth clamped firmly together directly on the tendon, Roxas let out a stuttering moan that strongly resembled the word ‘Ax…el’, and worried sex with Axel may be about to end before it’d really begun. He didn’t want to pull away, every fiber of his body screaming to ride out the white-hot currents coursing through it.

And he didn’t have to, as Axel slowed his hips to a halt to scoot off and lie at Roxas’ side, whispering, “Can I?” as he fumbled Roxas’ jeans open, shoved them and the boxers below Roxas’ hips, and reached his hand down to grab hard, hot flesh.

“ _Fuuuuuck…_ ”

If Roxas had wanted to hold back any embarrassing noises in the hopes of impressing Axel, this was where it fell apart. With Axel’s hand firm around his length, pumping in time with his own thrusts…his own thrusts?

Roxas exerted a great effort to get up on his elbows and see that Axel had unbuttoned his own pants to stroke his leaking cock, palming the head before moving in time with the hand working over Roxas.

Roxas lingered to take in the sight of Axel like this, breathless and pale and barely still composed, before swatting his hand out of the way.

“C’mere,” he murmured, repositioning himself on the ample mattress so Axel was leaning directly over him again, and Roxas was able to take his erection in hand and begin stroking at a familiar angle.

They moved in time, each thrusting into the other’s hand, palms running over heads to gather precum and stroke the length of the shaft again, gaining speed all the while. Roxas’ breath was downright ragged; brain beginning to cloud over at the edges, and Axel had lost all self-control to moan deeply into Roxas’ ear.

“ _Fuck_ , yes Ro—xas, god, you’re so—”

Roxas didn’t get to hear exactly what he was, though he was sure he could guess. Axel’s body tensed over Roxas, arms shaking as he came in ribbons over Roxas’ knuckles and stomach, chest heaving for air. Roxas took one look at Axel coming over his own cock and came hard, whiteout starting at the edges and burning a negative of Axel on Roxas’ brain, brilliant eyes and upside-down teardrops emblazoned against pure snow that faded out from the edges in.

It was several moments later, when Axel had cleaned them up and curled himself around Roxas under a feather-soft duvet, when Roxas thought to say it.

“They only work on you.”

“Hmm?”

Axel’s voice was sleep-heavy, fingers carding softly through Roxas’ ruined hairdo.

“The tattoos. You wanted my opinion, they only work on you.”

Lips curved into a smile against Roxas’ spine, pressed to kiss the base of his neck.

“I like you too, Rox.”   
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯  
The first thing Axel was aware of was warm, yellow light, filtering through his eyelids in a sunrise glow. He blinked slowly awake, and the second thing he became aware of was a warm presence, solid against his front, and very solid on top of his currently dead right arm. The presence was snoring, a tiny, delicate snore that could only be called endearing.

Axel smiled, closing his eyes and settling in to drift back to sleep, when a shrill ringing pierced the still morning air. Several things happened at once; Axel’s eyes flew back open, the soft snoring ceased abruptly, and Axel’s arm shot out to reach for the phone just as Roxas sat straight up in alarm.

“Oof!” 

The noise that came from Roxas resembled a strong wind, followed by a groan and a thump as he fell flat back onto the bed.

“Oops! Little accident prone, aren’t you?” Axel offered apologetically, leaning over Roxas and smoothing back his hair, retracting the offending arm that had hit him across the gut.

“S’ fine—” Roxas gasped out, “Just get the phone!”

“Right!”

Making sure to watch the pointy ends of his limbs as he crawled over Roxas, Axel grabbed his phone off the ground and answered the call, “’Lo?”

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY TIMES I’VE CALLED?”

Kairi’s voice positively roared through the small speaker, causing Roxas’ eyes to widen in alarm and Axel to hold the phone about a foot away from his ear.

“WHERE IS HE? WHY IS HIS PHONE OFF? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM; HE IS NOT JUST ONE OF YOUR—YOUR FLINGS! I SWEAR TO GOD AXEL, I WILL CALL YOUR MOTHER!”

These last words sent a cold chill down Axel’s spine, and he swept the phone up to his ear as he replied, “He’s here, he’s fine! God! Chill out!”

“ _Chill out?_ ”

Axel had definitely said the wrong thing.

“Roxas, _help_ me, please say something!” he hissed over his shoulder, and Roxas grabbed the phone to add, “I’m fine, Kairi, honestly. You’re scaring him.”

“Well, it is _noon_ , you said you’d call in the morning! Sora and I’ve been so worried!”

“Aw, Riku wasn’t worried about me?”

The stony silence that followed made it clear Kairi was not amused. But Axel had seemed to recover himself, and he took the phone back as he said, “Hey, Kai, sorry it’s so late. I’ll bring him back now for lunch, okay? We can meet at Brandier Hall in fifteen.”

A sigh, another pause for composure, her fingernails surely tapping whatever surface was nearest, and then, “We’ll be there.”

Axel dropped the phone back on top of the pants he’d found them in, groaning as he rolled over to pat Roxas lightly on the ass.

“This is the last thing I wanna say right now, but I’m gonna need you to get up and put some clothes on.”


End file.
